The Alicante player Awa Fam will leave Valencia Basket at the end of the campaign after pay their termination clause to the new private league ‘Project B’, a competition that will be held annually between November and March and will consist of seven tournaments, one of which will be held at the Roig Arena in Valencia, and that can be combined with the WNBA, where all forecasts indicate that it will land next season in a high position in the draft.
In this way, Fam, who came to the Valencia Basket youth team at the age of 12 and debuted at just 15 in the first team, will leave the ‘taronja’ club being a very important piece of the team. Valencia, according to the Efe agency, will earn a significant amount and Fam will see his salary multiplied several times.
The new collective agreement signed by the players and the WNBA lengthens the competition, increases salaries and will make it difficult to combine the American league with the European leagues. Instead, ‘Project B’ will adapt to that schedule and make it compatible. The innovative tournament is designed to integrate top-level live competitions with the use of the latest technology through streaming, social networks and mobile devices, to expand its global reach and connect with new audiences, as explained by the organization.
“Awa embodies the present and the future of global basketball”
Fam’s signing has been announced in a statement from ‘Project B’, a project promoted as main investors by Geoff Prentice, co-founder of Skype, Grady Burnett, former director of Google and Facebook, and former player Alana Beard. “Awa embodies the present and future of global basketball,” said Alana Beard, basketball director of the project. “Play with confidence, creativity and courage and naturally assume the responsibility that comes with participating in this competition. Bringing Project B to Valencia with Awa leading this moment makes it even more significant“added the directive.
Figures linked to the world of sports such as former players Candace Parker and Lauren Jackson and tennis players also appear as minor investors in the project. Novak Djokovic and Sloane Stephens or former American football player Steve Young
Fam will join a list of players the organization refers to as “partners”, given that in addition to higher salaries than in any country, it offers them tournament shares, and which includes her Valencia teammate Leo Fiebich.
Also, among others, Nneka Ogwumike, Alyssa Thomas, Jonquel Jones, Jewell Loyd, Sophie Cunningham, Kamilla Cardoso, Li Meng, Janelle Salaun, Kelsey Mitchell and Mai Yamamoto will compete in the competition. It is expected that there will be more than sixty players.
The future ‘Project B’ teams, a mystery
The organization has not yet clarified how it will form the teams and It is only known that it will be ‘five against five’ basketball. In principle there will be six different teams.
The competition announced Tokyo as one of its seven stops and two weeks ago confirmed a multi-year agreement for the Roig Arena in Valencia to be its headquarters in Spain. In this case, the tournament is scheduled to be played between March 12 and 22, coinciding in part with the Fallas. It is expected that there will also be offices in America, in addition to Asia and Europe.
